Design wheel and mounting therefor



May 11, 1937. c w sMlTH 2,079,969

DESIGN WHEEL AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Filed Nov. 19, 1935 4 INVENTOR. Char/es 14 5/77/77? ATTORNEY.

Patented May 11, 1937 lll'l'ED DESIGN WHEEL AND MOUNTING THEREFOR Charles W. Smith, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Charles Peberdy & Son, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application November 19, 1935, Serial No. 50,501

14 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the art of knitting tubular ribbed fabrics and is directed more particularly to the provision of a satisfactory and efficient design wheel for use especially upon machines of the type of the Cooper ribbed spring needle knitting machine. This machine is characterized by the fact that it is a so-called cylinder machine employing spring needles, but wherein the cylinders are of frusto conical form, in contradistinction to the usual cylindrical cylinders and this frusto conical form of cylinder has, prior to this invention, presented apparently insurmountable difficulties in connection with the knitting of designs in the fabric.

The present invention provides a simple and efiicient design wheel for use in conjunction with a machine of this kind and which will effectually produce the designs required in a simple and efficient manner and in an entirely automatic way.

The use of a design wheel in conjunction with a knitting machine of the character described presents numerous difficulties. The function of a design wheel is to cooperate with the needle jacks, as the cylinder rotates, in such manner as to lift selected jacks and their corresponding needles during predetermined angular degrees of rotation of the cylinder and in definite predetermined amounts, and it is essential to satisfactory practical operation that the wheel cooperate with the needle jacks in a smooth, rolling manner, the parts being synchronized so as to travel at substantially the same peripheral speeds. The problem is a fairly simple one where the cylinder of the machine is. of true cylindrical form, but where the cylinder is of frusto conical form, the obtaining of a proper rolling motion with respect to the jacks and the obtaining of the desired lift have been difficult of accomplishment. There is a pronounced tendency to pull the jacks andneedles 01f of the cylinder and there has been much diificulty experienced in obtaining the necessary lift of the needle jacks.

By the present invention, however, I have overcome these apparently insurmountable difficulties and produce a design wheel structure which properly cooperates with the frusto conical cylinder and is susceptible of an almost unlimited variation in pattern in the resulting fabric.

Speaking generally, the invention consists in a wheel provided with a slotted periphery or margin forming said margin into a continuous succession of teeth about the periphery of the wheel and the slots between which teeth are positioned in angular relation to planes passing through the axis of the wheel, so that, when the wheel is mounted in angular relation to the face of the rotary cylinder of the machine, the slots, as they come ,into' cooperative relation with the jacks,

will be parallel to a radial plane including the axis of the machine cylinder, so that these slots will mesh with the needle jacks and permit the jacks to rotate the wheel insynchronism with the cylinder and thereby effect proper timing of the parts.

The slots in the wheel are adapted to receive plug inserts of novel design arranged in said slots in desired numbers and placements in order to control the design and these plug inserts are so shaped that, as they come into cooperative relation with the jacks, they will engage with the lower face of the jacks to lift the jacks.

The plug inserts must be so constituted that they will permit of an intermeshlng relation between the teeth of the wheel and the jacks and while this meshing relation is present, the plug inserts must also act upon the jacks to lift them. Consequently the plug inserts must be so formed that they leave a part of each slot open to receive the jack and at the same time must provide a lifting shoulder to act upon the jack to operate the same. Furthermore these plug inserts must be kept at the proper, angle and are therefore provided with fingers or projections which extend for an appreciable distance through and beyond the respective slots and insure the maintenance of a wide bearing with the wall of the slot, soas to keep the plug inserts from unduly tilting. l l

As the relation between the wheel and the cylinderis of utmost importance to the successful performance of the wheel in promoting the designs desired, I find it essential to make adequate provision for proper mounting of the wheel in order'that these fine adjustments to which I have referred may be possible of accomplishment. My experience has shown that this can best be accomplished through the employment of a mounting bracket, soconstituted as to permit of universal adjustment of the wheel. This bracket; which constitutes part of the present invention, is adapted tobe mounted rigidly on some stationary part of the machine and is provided with relatively adjustable parts for supporting the wheel thereon in'such manner that the wheel is adapted for'universal adjustment in practically every direction, so that it may be brought into the desired position of adjustment and then looked in place.

The present invention therefore includes the combination of the bracket and the wheel broadly, the bracket structure specifically, the wheel construction specifically and. the plug inserts specifically, as well as the combined relation of the wheel and its associated parts with the cylinder and its associated parts.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a knitting machine accessory embodying the present invention showing the same associated with a machine of the character referred to and the parts of which are illustrated fragmentally.

Figure 2 is an axial cross section through the wheel and is supporting arm.

Figure 3 is an underneath plan view of the wheel with a part of an associated clamping plate broken away to show the under face of the wheel and the manner in which the plug inserts cooperate therewith.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one plug insert detached.

' Figure 5 is a fragmental View of the edge of the wheel, as viewed from the axis of the cylinder, and showing one plug insert in place.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic front elevation showing the design wheel of the present invention associated with a Cooper ribbed spring needle knitting machine of the general character disclosed in Patent No. 1,257,968, issued March 5, 1918 to William T. Barratt and comprising opposed upper and lower frusto conical cylinders.

Referring to the drawing, l designates the attaching arm or stiff arm of the bracket which supports the wheel of this invention. This arm l is adapted to be rigidly mounted in place on the fixed top frame 2 of the knitting machine by means of an attaching screw 3 or in any other suitable manner, providing, however, that the arm is rigidly secured in place. The arm I is provided with a hub 4 which is drilled to receive the reduced shank 5 of a bracket post 6. A set screw 1 is threaded into the hub 4 and bears against the shank 5 to lock it against movement.

The bracket post 6 is drilled to provide a hole 8 through which extends the design wheel arm 9. The arm may be locked rigidly in position by a set screw l0 having a lock nut l l. The inner end of the wheel arm 9 is threaded, as shown at l2 in Figure 2, and tightly screwed into a tapped hole in a collar l3 which carries a stub shaft M. The stub shaft may be locked in place by the set screw IS.

The design wheel, designated generally by the reference character 16, is mounted to rotate freely on the stub shaft I l, but is held in place thereon by a collar I1 locked in position by a set screw it. The advantage of this arrangement is that the bracket which forms a support for the design wheel is so constituted that the wheel is adapted to universal adjustment in every direction, in order that it may be brought bodily toward and away from the axis of the cylinder of the knitting machine and to the further end that it may be tilted to the necessary angle of inclinanation as may be required to promote proper cooperation with the needle jacks as will presently be described. A few of the needle jacks are indicated at I9 and they are mounted for vertical reciprocation in the guide grooves 20, this structure being conventional.

The design wheel comprises a circular disk provided with a hub 2! which rotates on the stub shaft It. The upper surface of the disk is flat throughout the greater portion of its extent, but near its outer periphery it may be stepped down as shown at 22. The under surface of the disk, however, is stepped up as indicated at 23, so as to form an annular seat 23, for the plug inserts, which are designated generally by the reference character 24. The stepped down portion 22 of the disk is provided with circumferentially spaced apart slots 27 extending throughout the thickness of the disk, but instead of these slots being parallel to the axis of the wheel, they are inclined with reference thereto. The angle of inclination of these slots may vary and will usually differ in accordance with the diameter of, or cuts in, the wheel, but, for the purpose of illustration,

it may be noted that with the Cooper machine of the character described and with a hundred out wheel, the inclination may be approximately 30 degrees. I wish it understood, however, that these figures are given purely by way of example and are in nowise intended as a limitation on this invention.

The plug inserts which I employ in conjunction with this wheel are all the same and one is shown in Figure 4. Each insert has a substantially flat face adapted to rest against the face of the annular seat 23 of the disk with its heel abutting against the shoulder 26 at the inner periphery of its seat. The flat part 25 is of a length to extend from the shoulder 26 to the base of the slots 21 and directly adjacent the end of this flat part is a projecting tongue 28 which is adapted to extend through and beyond the associated slot 27, so as to have a bearing for the complete thickness of the circumferential portion of the disk and thus hold the insert at the desired angle of inclination as determined by the angular cut of the slot. The outer end of the insert is notched or cut away, as indicated generally at 29, to produce a depressed seat 30 which, when the insert is in place on a disk, comes below the face of the surface 22 and provides between adjacent teeth of the disk a recess 3| to receive a needle jack. The under edges of the plug inserts are cut away to provide camming edges 32 which are so disposed that they are adapted to be engaged by an upstanding flange 33 on a clamping plate 34. This clamping plate is adapted to engage with all of the plug inserts, with the flange 33 thereof bearing against the camming edges 32, so that when the clamping plate is forced to a tight seat by screws 35, it will serve to automatically draw the inner ends of all the plug inserts tightly against the shoulder 26 and at the same time clamp all the plug inserts tightly in position on the disk, as will be apparent from Figure 2. Any number of attaching screws 35 may be used, but four is a satisfactory and convenient number.

When the plug inserts, constructed as described, are associated with the wheel in the manner specified, the wheel may be mounted upon the universal adjustable bracket and manipulated into proper adjustment. When in such adjustment, the slots 21, at the point of substantial tangency with the cylinder, will be substantially parallel with the axis of the cylinder. In other words, as the axis of the cylinder is generally vertical, each slot 21, as it comes into substantial tangency with the cylinder, will be substantially vertical, and consequently the plug apropos inserts .at this point be substantially vertical an :edgewise direction, although the face of the wheel be in a pronouncedly inclined relation thereto. If the angle of theicut of the slots depending upon the particular design to be knitrted and the grouping 30f these plug inserts will be correspondingly made. In any event, as the cylinder of the knitting machine rotates, the needle jacks, :as they approachthe wheel 16., will come into mesh with the slots 2?! and the wheel "will be rotated by the jacks. If no plug insert is positioned in any particular slot, the corresponding jack will simply pass through this slot without being raised, but, if the slot has a plug insert therein, the jack will be engaged by the shoulder 36 on the plug insert as said insert travels in an upward diagonal direction, so that as the parts rotate together, the jack will be raised. This raising operation will continue until through divergence in the path of the jack and slot the jack is released to permit it to descend to its normal position. During cooperative relation between'any particular jack and a slot with a plug insert, the lower portion of the jack will travel in the recess 31 which is formed within the slot and above the shoulder 33, so that there will remain a proper meshing relation to insure proper driving of the wheel and simultaneous elevation of the jack. In practice, the design wheel is used with machines of the general character shown in Patent No. 1,257,968, issued March 5, 1918, to William T. Barratt, and, when thus employed, is mounted to cooperate with the upper needle cylinder, the plug inserts being employed to move the needles into inactive position.

It should-of course be understood that in using a wheel with a spring needle knitting machine of the character specified, the push down cams of the needle race for the upper cylinder should be removed in order to permit-actuation of the jacks by the design wheel as described, but the bottom cams of the machine are left in conventional position and operate in the usual way. It therefore appears that the wheel actually serves the purpose of controlling the lifting of the jacks as .described and that the wheel must therefore be set at the proper inclination in order to insure a sufficiently prolonged cooperation with any particular jack to give it the lift desired. It further follows that the slots must be cut at the proper angle for the inclination of the wheel, so that the slots will be vertical to properly mesh with the jacks and insure driving engagement without such cramping as would be apt to lift the jacks and needles out of their guide channels. With the structure described, these factors are readily provided for and even though the movement of the jack is along the exterior of a frustoconical surface, this proper cooperation can be maintained for automatic operation. In other words, the inclination of the wheel is such that, from the time the jacks engage with plugged slots to the time from which they are disengaged from said slots, the elevation of the jack is sufficient for the purposes described. Without this tilting of the-wheel and without correct adjustment, as stated, this would not be possible.

It will of course be understood that I may use with a machine of the character specified, any appropriate number of design wheels in themanner described to produce the fabric desired and with :a machine thus equipped, I am able to produce an almost unlimited number of designs in knitted fabrics of all kinds,such as may be adapted for use particularly as outer wear broadly, among which may lie-enumerated, dresses, bathing suits, sweaters, hosiery, caps, etc.

The design wheel may also function to produce tuck or welt stitches and will make raised patterns .in fabrics of uniform color or in multicolors depending upon the yarn fed to the machine.

I consider particularly important the use of the adjustable bracket and one which is adjustable in a universal manner for correct positioning of the wheel is essential to its proper operation, and with a frusto-conical cylinder, this is of utmost importance. I also lay particular stress upon the use of plug inserts cooperating with a wheel in such manner as to leave a recess for proper meshing of the slots and jacks and at the same time to provide for a proper lifting abutment on each plug insert. The employment of camming edges 32 on the inserts is highly desirable for practical reasons, for it enables me to quickly adjust all of the inserts and clamp them firmly in position, so that none will protrude to...

such extent as might cause serious damage to the machine. The use of unitary clamping and adjusting means, which takes the form of the clamping plate 34, flanged tocooperate with the camming edges of the plug inserts, has solved the y;

problem of uniform adjustment of the plug inserts in a simple and efficient manner.

It will be noted particularly from Figures 4 and 5 that the lifting shoulder or abutment 39 on the plug insert .24 is on an angle or bevel. This bevel preferably corresponds to the angle of inclination of the wheel, so that when the plug inserts are in position as shown in Figure 5, the lifting shoulder 30 is substantially parallel to the upper or lower face of the disk of the wheel. This has an important practical advantage. In practice, the cuts 21 in the wheel disk are somewhat wider than the jacks with which they cooperate, so that there is a fair amount of working clearance between the thickness of the jack and the width of the slot 21. This allowsof .an important practical function. In the firstplace it allows the jacks to readily enter the slots freely and, as the jacks I!) move in the direction of the arrow 36 in Figure 5, they tend to ride up the incline surface 30 and bear against the vertical wall of the slot in order to give a positive forward drive to the wheel, If the shoulder 30 were horizontal at its high point any back lash which the wheel might have would tend to throw the jack out of the slot and on to the upper face of the wheel disk which would be obviously objectionable. On the other hand if the shoulder 30 were cut horizontal at its lower level, there would be a tendency to leave an opening between the shoulder and the leading edge of .2;

the slot which would also be objectionable. However, when the shoulder is inclined as stated, the forward movement of the jack causes it to engage and drive positively against the upright shoulder of the slot, but in the event of back lash, the jack will simply ride down the incline 30 and engage with the straight wall at the back side of the slot. Thus no matter which direction the jack may be forced against the walls of the slot, it will meet a definite vertical abutment or face which,

will keep it in the slot and at the same time the lower part of the slot will not be open at the corner.

In Figure 5 the plug insert and slots are shown closely fitted with one another and sufficiently narrow to give the best working arrangement, but in quantity production of these parts, slight variations may occur for which the incline 39 will effectually compensate and provide a smooth, working relationship between the parts and one which will insure proper cooperation between the jack and the wheel at all times.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in its preferred practical form, but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an assembly of the character described, a circular knitting machine having a rigid frame and a rotatable frusto conical cylinder provided with needle guides and associated jacks, in combination with a wheel adapted to control the longitudinal movement of the needle jacks to produce a predetermined design, and a bracket supporting said wheel for rotation in inclined relation substantially peripherally tangent to the surface of the cylinder and in intermeshing relation to the needle jacks, said bracket being adjustable to vary the inclination of the wheel and to permit of movement of the wheel toward and away from the axis of the cylinder.

2. In an assembly of the character described, a circular knitting machine having a rigid frame and a rotatable frusto conical cylinder provided with needle guides and associated jacks, in combination with a design wheel having a slotted periphery and adapted to control the longitudinal movement of the needle jacks to produce a predetermined design, and a bracket supporting said wheel for rotation in inclined relation substantially peripherally tangent to the surface of the cylinder with the slots in the periphery of the wheel intermeshing with the needle jacks, said slots at the point of tangential relation between the wheel and the cylinder being parallel to the axis of the cylinder, and plug inserts extending into at least some of said slots to leave recesses in said slots for meshing engagement with the jacks and to also provide in said slots shoulders to engage with and lift the jacks as the cylinder and wheel are rotated, said bracket being adjustable to vary the inclination of the wheel to control the amount of lift imparted to the jacks by said plug inserts.

3. In an assembly of the character described, a circular knitting machine having a rigid frame and a rotatable frusto conical cylinder provided with needle guides and associated jacks, in combination with an arm rigidly mounted on the frame, a bracket post adjustable longitudinally and rotatably with respect to said arm, means for locking said post rigidly to the arm, a design wheel arm longitudinally and rotatably movable with respect to said post, means for locking the design wheel arm rigidly to the post, a stub shaft carried by said design wheel arm, and a wheel rotatable on said stub shaft and adapted to control the longitudinal movement of the needle jacks to produce a predetermined design, said design wheel being mounted for adjustment toward and away from said cylinder and for varying angular relation with respect thereto.

4. A plug insert comprising a substantially flat elongated blank, one longitudinal edge of which is provided with a projecting tongue adapted to extend into the slot of a design wheel and which tongue is notched to provide a jack lifting abutment.

5. A plug insert comprising a substantially fiat elongated blank, one longitudinal edge of which is provided with a projecting tongue adapted to extend into the slot of a design wheel and which tongue is notched to provide a jack lifting abutment, the opposite longitudinal edge of said blank being provided with a camming surface.

6. A plug insert comprising a fiat blank, one end of which has an extension to project into the slot of a design wheel and which extension is cut away to form a jack lifting abutment inclined with respect to the faces of the blank.

7. A plug insert comprising an elongated blank, one end of which has a raised extension to project into the slot of a design wheel and beyond which extension is a jack lifting abutment of lower elevation.

8. A plug insert comprising an elongated blank, one end of which has a raised extension to project into the slot of a design wheel and beyond which extension is an inclined jack lifting abutment of lower elevation.

9. A design wheel comprising a circular disk provided with a slotted periphery, plug inserts projecting from one face of said disk into selected slots to form in said slots at the opposite face of the disk recesses for the reception of plug jacks with the base of each recess forming a jack lifting abutment, and means for rigidly securing said plug inserts to the disk.

10. A design wheel comprising a circular disk provided with a slotted periphery, the slots of which are arranged in inclined relation to the axis of the disk and extend through the full thickness of the peripheral portion of said circular disk, plug inserts extending into selected slots from one face of said disk to leave within said selected slots recesses at the opposite face of the disk for the reception of needle jacks and form at the base of each recess a jack lifting abutment, and clamping means for securing said plug inserts to the disk.

11. A design wheel comprising a circular disk provided with a slotted periphery, the slots of which are arranged in inclined relation to the axis of the disk and extend through the full thickness of the peripheral portion of the disk, plug inserts extending into selected slots from one face of the disk to leave within said selected slots recesses at the opposite face of the disk for the reception of needle jacks and form at the base of each recess a jack lifting abutment substantially parallel to the face of the disk, and a clamping plate for securing said plug inserts to the disk.

12. A design wheel comprising a circular disk provided with a slotted periphery, the slots of which extend in inclined relation to the axis of the disk, a plurality of plug inserts cooperating with a like number of selected slots, each plug insert projecting into its associated slot from one face of the disk to maintain the insert at proper angular inclination and each insert being cut away to form in the corresponding slot, at the opposite face of the disk, a recess for the reception of a needle jack and at the base of each recess a plug lifting abutment, and means for securing the plug inserts to the disk.

13. A design wheel comprising a circular disk provided with a slotted periphery, the slots of which extend in inclined relation to the axis of the disk, a plurality of plug inserts cooperating with a like number of selected slots, each plug insert projecting into its associated slot from one face of the disk to maintain the insert at proper angular inclination and each insert being cut away to form in the corresponding slot, at the opposite face of the disk, a recess for the reception of a needle jack and at the base of each to recess a plug lifting abutment parallel to the face of the disk, and means for securing the plug; inserts to the disk.

14. A design wheel comprising a circular disk provided in its periphery with slots inclined to the face of the disk and extending through the full peripheral thickness of the disk, an annular plug insert seat at one face of the disk, an annular rabbet at the other face of the disk and at the slotted peripheral portion thereof to render the slotted periphery of the wheel of less thickness than the remainder of the disk, plug inserts seated against said plug insert seat and having extensions projecting into the slots in the disk periphery, said extensions being notched within the slots of the disk to form jack lifting abutments facing irithe direction of the rabbeted face of the disk, and means for securing the plug inserts rigidly in position.

CHARLES W. SMITH. 

